The Importance of Worsening Heart Failure in Ambulatory Patients: Definition, Characteristics, and Effects of Amino-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Guided Therapy

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at BNP (Nesiritide).

A total of 151 symptomatic patients with chronic HFrEF were randomized to standard of care HF management or a goal to lower N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentrations ≤1,000 pg/ml in addition to standard of care.

Why It Was Studied

No standardized definition of WHF exists.

It remains uncertain how WHF relates to risk for other HF events or how treatment may affect WHF.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 151 patients were involved.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized study.

The patients were allocated by chance, so the BNP (Nesiritide) group and the comparison group should start out alike.

WHF was prospectively defined as: 1) new or progressive symptoms and/or signs of decompensated HF; and 2) unplanned intensification of diuretic therapy.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Acute Disease, Adrenergic beta-Antagonists, Ambulatory Care, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors, Cardiovascular Diseases, Disease Progression and Heart Failure.

The authors tagged it with the keywords biomarkers, chronic heart failure and worsening heart failure.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of BNP (Nesiritide) in 151 patients.

Its findings take up roughly 6 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2016 (JACC. Heart failure), a journal based in United States.

More context: the BNP (Nesiritide) compound page, all human trials.